Gov. Rick Snyder tours new Vocational Village at Parnall Correctional Facility

When Gov. Rick Snyder had the chance to step inside the newly-opened Vocational Village at Parnall Correctional Facility in Jackson, it was clear his enthusiasm for the program was high.

He was impressed by how quickly prisoners learned and developed their skills through the trades training program and encouraged them to take pride in their work and accomplishments.

“This is a tremendously exciting program,” Snyder said. “The biggest question I have is why didn’t we think of this 20 or 30 years ago?”

Snyder visited the Vocational Village at Parnall Correctional Facility on October 16, along with state Reps. Dave Pagel and Julie Alexander, and spent time speaking to prisoners and instructors in each trade. He said he was pleased to see such a high level of energy and determination from program participants.

“The main thing was just how excited the people were about the work they were doing,” Snyder said. “They were engaged. They enjoy doing this and they see value in it.”

The Vocational Village at Parnall held its grand opening in August and has the capacity to accommodate up to 240 prisoners and 32 trade tutors. Its trades include carpentry, concrete and masonry, computer numerical control machining, robotics, automotive technology, commercial truck driving and forklift operation.

Prisoners have full days of training and classroom instruction intended to mirror a typical work day outside the confines of a correctional facility.

Kyle Counts, a prisoner in the computer numerical control machining program, said many offenders turn to crime when they cannot find work, but the training offered through the Vocational Village helps solve that problem.

“There’s no reason why anyone needs to resort back to crime,” Counts said. “Now we have the education and the tools we need to get jobs when we go home.”

Counts said the program also benefits prisoners by housing Vocational Village participants together.

Prisoners live together in one housing unit that acts as a supportive learning community where they can study and attend programs together, and support each other’s success.

“We’re like-minded individuals,” Counts said. “We’re all just trying to go home.”

The department opened its first Vocational Village at Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility in 2016, offering training in trades that include welding, computer numerical control machining, automotive technology, carpentry, plumbing and electrical work.

About 70 percent of prisoners who have paroled from the program at Handlon are employed.

“To have a career opportunity that is good, well-paying and established the day you leave is a fabulous head start,” Snyder said. “I think we will see a dramatic difference in terms of how many of these folks come back.”

Prisoners in both Vocational Villages must meet measurable goals, and receive state- and nationally-recognized certifications on their trade through successful participation in the program.

Prisoners from across the state can apply to become a student at one of the department’s Vocational Villages, and must be within two years of release, have a GED and stay misconduct free to be accepted. They also must demonstrate that they are committed to completing the training.

The department hopes to launch a third Vocational Village at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility — a plan Snyder supports.

Snyder said the program is creating a dramatically different future for prisoners and would like to see all paroled from it land employment. He said he fully supports the program, and is happy to help recruit employers to hire its graduates.

When former offenders land jobs, they have the opportunity to focus on the careers ahead of them and leave their life of crime behind — making communities safer.

“It’s a great outcome for the people coming out of the program, but it’s also a great outcome for our citizens in society,” Snyder said. “What better answer could we get?”

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